Step back and look at how you’re responding The way you respond to your thoughts can sometimes keep you in a cycle of rumination, or repetitive thinking. Rumination can often cause negative consequencesTrusted Source to a person’s mental health.
Asking for feedback Though immersion can and does help people to make quick progress, you can make even better progress if you ask for feedback. Practice does indeed make perfect but only if you know where you could improve.
Language first, grammar second As long as you have a basic understanding of sentence structure in a foreign language, then you can get by with knowing basic vocabulary. Once you’ve got enough grounding, you can really start to practice being more accurate.
Recognize automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) refer to knee-jerk negative thoughts, usually involving fear or anger, you sometimes have in reaction to a situation.
Stay present Not ready to commit to a meditation routine? There are plenty of other ways to ground yourself in the present moment.
Take a deep breath You’ve heard it a million times, but that’s because it works. The next time you find yourself tossing and turning over your thoughts, close your eyes and breathe deeply.
Meditate Developing a regular meditation practice is an evidence-backed way to help clear your mind of nervous chatter by turning your attention inward. All you need is 5 minutes and a quiet spot.
Look at the bigger picture How will all the issues floating around in your mind affect you 5 or 10 years from now? Will anyone really care that you bought a fruit plate for the potluck instead of baking a pie from scratch? Don’t let minor issues turn into significant hurdles.
Concentrate on learning A friend of mine speaks very little French. Yet when we went camping in France, everyone presumed he was the best French speaker of the lot. Why? Because he had perfected the accent.
Spaced repetition This technique is a long-standing technique that has been used by countless people over the years as a way of improving the speed at which they learn a new language. Spaced repetition helps you memorize new vocabulary.